Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A true test of compatibility

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

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I’ve found a number of interesting books when I need a new audio book by just seeing what is “available now” at my library, sorted by popularity. Is that how I found A Marriage at Sea (2025) by Sophie Elmhirst? Honestly, now I can’t remember. I may have seen it on a list somewhere. Also, now that I’ve read it, I’m seeing this book everywhere, including NPR and NYT’s 2025 lists. Spoilers follow. A Marriage at Sea is the true story of a couple, Maralyn and Maurice, who […]

“The case does look very black against you. Nevertheless, I accept your assurance.”

The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie

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Last year I read my first ever Agatha Christie novel and enjoyed the experience so much that I put another on this year’s list. Without a better idea of where to start I hunted up works published by Christie in 1925 and the short story now known as The Witness for the Prosecution fit the bill. I didn’t know much going in about what the story contained and decided that was probably for the best.   This 50-minute audio (read by the incomparable Christopher Lee) is an excellent example of how Christie honed in on the mechanics of writing to tell her […]

Now is a good time to become familiar with social determinants of health

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

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What a time to be alive and listening to John Green narrate his book, Everything is Tuberculosis. I’ve been listening to it slowly because I am always on the verge of a rage stroke and I want to outlive the current administration. I listened to the last chapter and post script hours after reading that the Department of Education has decided that nursing is no longer a profession. I’m lucky to be alive. Sophia’s review of Everything is Tuberculosis is probably better balanced, because I […]

“I can change. I can find myself a thousand different times, and I’m not done yet.”

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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I have been on a run this year with marriage of convenience romance novels. By my count, Rachel Lynn Solomon’s What Happens in Amsterdam is my fourth of the year, following Two Friends in Marriage, In a Jam, and In a Rush. I read In a Jam on vacation in Amsterdam which is part of the reason why I decided to read What Happens in Amsterdam, the other being two very enthusiastic reviews of it from people I trust on Goodreads – one of which shouted out the quality of the audiobook (she was right – its great).   It was nice to read this […]

In the merry old land of Lud

The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen King

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For those keeping score: I’ve continued my return pilgrimage to The Dark Tower, recently completing the third novel in this epic tale. The Waste Lands brings Roland further along the path of the Beam toward his ultimate destination. This time, there are a few more members in the ka-tet, and the devastation of a world that has “moved on” becomes clearer. Throughout this third novel, Jake is welcomed back into Roland’s world and is officially part of the gang. Even more delightfully, Oy the billy-bumbler […]

Was vast social inequality and control inevitable? A dense, meticulously researched final work from anarchist anthropologist David Graeber says “no.”

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber, David Wengrow

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I’ve been putting off reading this 704-page book for a few years, believing it deserved time and attention I didn’t have. David Graeber, who died suddenly in 2020, was an anthropologist and activist, an anarchist philosopher who, through confronting social inequality in unrelenting, novel, and thoroughly-source and -reasoned manner carved his way into a central role in the field. I’ve always found Graeber to be able to reorient entire areas of society so they made sense—and nonsense—in novel ways. Debt: The First 5000 Years and […]



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